The Auckland Law School at the University of Auckland says it will make an additional 50 places available to students from 2017, and there will potentially be more places available after that.

This will be done by increasing Part II numbers from 330 to 380 students.

Dean of Law Andrew Stockley says the Part II student intake has not increased for over a decade, while Auckland's population has significantly expanded at the same time.

"These changes will address this," Professor Stockley says. "The increase in undergraduate student numbers will provide more opportunities for academically gifted students who want to study at New Zealand's leading university to pursue a law degree."

The Law School says the increase will also allow for more places under the Targeted Admissions Scheme. It says helping support more Māori and Pacific students is important to provide a more representative legal profession.

A statement from the Law School says it will continue to have the highest admission standards in the country and it will significantly increase its number of full-time academic staff at the same time.

"This will allow it to provide more small group and innovative teaching and will make the number of full-time academic staff more comparable to higher-ranked law schools such as Melbourne and Sydney. Auckland is the only New Zealand law school ranked among the top 50 in the world and this will help it become even higher ranked," the statement says.

“With significantly more staff, the Auckland Law School will have a much larger research footprint, which is critical for increased international attention, impact and rankings. More staff will also help ensure that the Auckland Law School is a truly comprehensive law school, with strength in all major areas,” Professor Stockley says.